It's been no secret over the past few years that PNC Field, the home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League), needs a lot of TLC. Last year the Yankees and Mandalay Baseball Properties, which jointly manage the franchise and ballpark on behalf of the local stadium authority, made a pitch for a new ballpark, preferably in the same general location, to the tune of $35-$50 million. But a new ballpark isn't in the works in Moosic. So the solution, it appears, will be a renovation of PNC Field. Philadelphia design firm Ewing Cole — the architect of Citizens Bank Park, among other facilities — says it will take $13.3 million to bring the facility up to snuff. In a report presented to the Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority, the firm estimated it would take that much for the ballpark to remain functional past 2011.It's been no secret over the past few years that PNC Field, the home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League), needs a lot of TLC. Last year the Yankees and Mandalay Baseball Properties, which jointly manage the franchise and ballpark on behalf of the local stadium authority, made a pitch for a new ballpark, preferably in the same general location, to the tune of $35-$50 million.
But a new ballpark isn't in the works in Moosic: none of the potential funding sources — Lackawanna County, Luzerne County, the stadium authority and the state — are stepping forward with any money for a new ballpark. True, the Yankees and Mandalay could move the team once they exercise an option to buy the franchise, but that's not been on the table, and it's not as though there's an abundance of great markets in the International League footprint. (Yes, cue the discussion of Jacksonville if you want…but for the time being the Suns are solidly ensconced in the Southern League.)
So the solution, it appears, will be a renovation of PNC Field. Philadelphia design firm Ewing Cole — the architect of Citizens Bank Park, among other facilities — says it will take $13.3 million to bring the facility up to snuff. In a report presented to the Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority, the firm estimated it would take that much for the ballpark to remain functional past 2011.